Progressive politics, issues and candidates with a particular emphasis on Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are opinions and the site owner is not responsible for the opinions written by others. All content, including original photographs, are copyrighted.

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May 28, 2008

The new version of The Pennsylvania Progressive is up and running. We are in a testing phase so please bear with us. I need to find out if all the features are working properly so come by, write some diaries, post some comments, and join us getting it off the ground. Fine tuning remains to be done and the header and footer are being worked on along with the contact and FAQ pages so please realize not everything is yet complete.

Users must register at this site and you must have a valid email address to do so. You can comment right away but there is a three day waiting period to post diaries. One of the features of the new blog is that anyone can register and write your own articles, as diaries, to the blog. Use this, for example, to tell us what is happening in your part of the state.

Another nice feature is the "scoop" comments. This means you can respond to someone's comment directly and your comment will appear under the first one instead of down the comment list. This enables much easier following of discussion threads. You can also insert pictures and links in your comments and diaries (using html code). Come on over and join us as we test drive the new place.

May 09, 2008

The Pennsylvania Progressive is going to continue in a new incarnation at a new host, SoapBlox. It took about a week to set up the new account and now the new blog is being developed. It's going to take several weeks, at a minimum, due to my having to learn some programming. You can register now as a user though and observe our construction process. The domain name www.ThePennsylvaniaProgressive.com now takes you to the new blog and will be the official URL of the blog. I also own PennsylvaniaProgressive.com and that will take you there shortly.

Please have some patience as I learn how to set this thing up. I'm a writer, not a programmer.

There will be many new features on the new incarnation such as scoop comments, user diaries and all who want to post comments or diaries must register with a valid email address. If you're familiar with DailyKos, MyDD, Booman Tribune, My Left Wing and other liberal blogs we will have the same format with the same host company.

Update: I'm having difficulty getting support at the new site. The domain name isn't working (hasn't now for a week) and access to the new blog requires refreshing your browser, crossing your fingers and hope it works. Contrary to rumor this isn't some super secret code for entry.

This is extremely frustrating. I'm not sure if there's enough support at that host for the blog.

I'd like to address the idiot who wrote on a blog that she's surprised I had to shut this blog down here at Typepad. This host informed me that "I cannot use anyone's name without their permission." That's an all inclusive restriction. It means I cannot even mention, by name, the President of the United States. I am not going to write articles in which I cannot use anyone's name, even sources. That would make the blog unreadable. I'm amazed at this person's stupidity since she's the one who shut us down. What did she expect was going to happen? This is exactly what she intended after all. It's interesting that while searching for more of her public blogging persona to document the fraud I came across her old DNC Party Builder profile where she clearly and publicly identified herself as both of her blogging identities. Claiming she is anonymous is a crock and Typepad should be ashamed they fell for this scam.

April 28, 2008

I've been down with a wicked flu for over two weeks so I'm just beginning to look into setting up the blog elsewhere. I have found a new home for The Pennsylvania Progressive and I think readers will like the new look and format. The bad news is that this will take some time to set up, test and implement. When we moved from Blogger I had the luxury of setting this up here at Typepad while continuing to write at Blogspot. Circumstances do not allow that luxury now.

Hopefully all the content from here will be transferred so the archives won't be lost. It will take time to set up all the sidebar links and blogrolls, test various features and so forth. The new format will be much easier for readers and commenters and allow for more input from you. The domain name ThePennsylvaniaProgressive.com and PennsylvaniaProgressive.com will both take you to the new blog once it is up and running.

Thanks to Markos for suggesting the new platform and home for our community.

Update (May 2nd): The new host for the blog is being established and work developing the blog, design, formating, links, blogrolls and features will begin being developed next week. The domain name for the blog, ThePennsylvaniaProgressive.com will be the URL for the new location and is no longer linked to this location. I'm sorry for any confusion resulting from the changeover. It may be some weeks before we are up and operating again.

April 18, 2008

My.BarackObama.com, according to this authority, is an official website of Obama For America, Barack Obama's presidential campaign. This blog on My.BarackObama.com published, in its entirety, this article from The Pennsylvania Progressive. The article neither links to my original nor attributes the opening paragraphs, my original work, to me or The Pennsylvania Progressive. This is called plagiarism. It also constitutes copyright infringement. I gave no one permission to republish this article. I thought the letter from Tammi Hetherington was significant and an important story amidst the discussion about the Bosnian sniper fire controversy. If I'd known then what I know now I would not have published the letter.

I contacted the press office of the Obama campaign through my contact Matt Lehrich two days ago about this violation and the article still is posted on My.BarackObama.com. They are aware of the legal violation and have yet to respond in any way.

An intermediary contacted me with Tammi's letter and asked if I was interested in the story. Reading her words I was immediately taken with the significance of offense taken by a soldier who was serving at Tuzla at the time. I telephoned Tammi and interviewed her before writing my article. I was told I was competing for the story with Politico.com. I wrote my story about her letter in conjunction with a press call earlier that day with Major General Walter Stewart and wove his comments into the article as an explanation about valor theft. Before publishing the article I sent it to Tammi's intermediary (who, aside from a supporter's blog at the Obama website which anyone can do), did not seem connected with the Obama campaign.

They liked my article and gave me the story. I thought I had an exclusive. I told them when it would publish and programmed my software to publish the article. Now it seems they also gave MY article and MY words to other bloggers. I have found my entire article on other blogs published without any attribution or permission. Once Tammi gave this story to me and it was published on this blog it became my intellectual property. This blog is clearly marked, on the masthead, as being copyrighted.

I began contacting some of these bloggers Wednesday now that I have more time on my hands and asking that they remove the article for copyright violations. One such blogger took offense and emailed me that he published it with permission. I gave no one permission. I certainly would not have given anyone permission to use my very own words without attribution. That constitutes plagiarism. When bloggers do use other people's words as fair use, they are supposed to blockquote them so readers understand what words have been used from the copyrighted material. Many of these bloggers failed to do this.

I was interested as to why and now I'm beginning to realize that Tammi, or someone close to her, gave my article to other bloggers. They did not notify me they were giving my work to other writers to use without my permission or without attribution. One such person is part of a network called Obama Rapid Response.

The fact the Obama campaign was notified that a violation was on their website and their refusal to deal with this matter seems to mean they are condoning this plagiarism. Why would Obama For America condone copyright violation and plagiarism on their official campaign website?

Update: Saturday: I have now found another of my copyrighted articles published in full, without permission, on My.BarackObama.com. The more time I spend searching for my copyrighted work on the official Obama websites the more violations I discover. As of today they still reside, in violation of law, on these websites. Looks like I need a copyright lawyer. Anyone know of one?

The more I look the more I find. What part of "copyright" and "all rights reserved" don't Obama bloggers comprehend? My articles are all over this website in spite of the fact no one requested permission. They are here, here, here, here, here, and heaven only knows how many more. Basically four of my articles have been republished all over My.BarackObama.com and another is so heavily taken it goes well beyond "fair use." It appears one Obama blogger took these four articles and copied and pasted them all to various sections of the Obama campaign website. No one noticed this and called him on it until now?

Update: Sunday, April 20:This is an issue because it goes to honor, a theme heavy in these articles and the message these Obama supporters are using to bash Hillary by stealing my work. Doing this takes traffic from my website and, therefore, costs me income. Advertising rates are based on historical traffic so these illegal actions stole site traffic that otherwise would have come here to read the full articles. Because they were published in their entireties elsewhere readers didn't have to come to this blog and create our traffic and revenues.

My.BarackObama has no integrity. Five days after the campaign was informed of these transgressions the articles remain on their website.

April 16, 2008

Why does Obama incite such hatred? He doesn't. He incites passion. He incites excitement. He gives us drive and makes us want to be more than we are, compelled more than we ever would be about taking our country back. As an Obama supporter, what the actions others do do not represent me or many other Obama supporters than the inspiration of his message of hope and change. You've got to remember, I've been on the street and have bumped into many Obama supporters. Do you know what many of these Obama supporters are? They're not anarchists or "elitist affluent liberals" or whatever. They are teachers fighting for our children neglected by the system, they are low-wage workers working hard for their families and living paycheck to paycheck, they are kids that are turning their lives around and striving to become successful. They are the older people and elderly that are working at McDonalds because they cannot afford retirement or that their pensions were eviscerated by a flawed system made against them. Obama's supporters are black, and white, and Hispanic, and Latino, and Asian, and Middle-eastern, rich and poor alike. Obama's supporters come from all walks of life and they are just like you- they are fed up with Bush and the games of Washington, and they want to turn the page on this BS.

Do not judge a book by its cover. Charles Manson used hippie culture and killed and exterminated the entire movement. However, did Charles Manson represent the hippie culture as a whole in the 1960s? Of course not. We have to be strong enough not to generalize, especially in a position of fear. Fear has created a culture of stereotyping, scapegoating and scrutiny in our country as it is right now. C'mon- what did Franklin Delano Roosevelt say about Fear? "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself:

This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth,frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditionsin our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured,will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firmbelief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless,unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts toconvert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life aleadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding andsupport of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I amconvinced that you will again give that support to leadership in thesecritical days... a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and anequally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimistcan deny the dark realities of the moment....Truethey have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of anoutworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed onlythe lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which toinduce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resortedto exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They knowonly the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision,and when there is no vision the people perish...Happiness lies not in the merepossession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrillof creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longermust be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These darkdays will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our truedestiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves andto our fellow men. Recognition of the falsity of material wealthas the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment ofthe false belief that public office and high political position are tobe valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit;and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business whichtoo often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous andselfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for itthrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, onfaithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannotlive.

Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now.

Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvableproblem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplishedin part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating thetask as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time,through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects tostimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources. There must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must bean end to speculation with other people’s money, and there must beprovision for an adequate but sound currency.</p>

We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the UnitedStates have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandatethat they want direct, vigorous action. Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933, as published in Samuel Rosenman, ed.,The Public Papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Volume Two: The Year of Crisis, 1933</em> (New York: Random House, 1938), 11–16.

We, as progressives and people wanting change, need to be stronger and more upright than this. We have different challenges that come up every day, however, we cannot let that make us falter. Remember, once we get a nominee, we're going to get the attacks of the Far-Right from mountains on high thrashing down on us with their messages of fear, stereotyping and paranoia raining down on us in hopes of them getting McBush into office- and we got to be a whole lot stronger than we have been. We have to stand with a strong message in solidarity that we cannot be shaken or scared; not this time. We want change this time. We are not going to divide ourselves anymore, we're going to push ahead and we're going to fight to make our country better. We have so much riding on this. We have the possibility of future wars and future deaths. We have the health and safety of our future children and generations on the line, because of the continuation of a economically vampiric occupation and invasion of a country of poor people, we have a faltering public school system that is neglecting our young people so much that half of our kids are dropping out of school. We cannot let this happen. Our country is in trouble and if we drop the flag now, who will be the next ones to carry it?

C'mon, John, keep writing. We, Pennsylvania progressives, need you to continue taking action and help continue supporting our mission to have more of an open voice to express progressive issues, especially on the eve of the Pennsylvania election.

April 15, 2008

Update: I really love embarrassing Typepad this way after what they've done to me. Let me clue them in to a pertinent fact about truly anonymous bloggers: they don't voluntarily reveal anything about themselves. Cats R Flyfishn did so openly on several blogs. Here are two:

In the first one she is identified via the link as "carol" from Pennsylvania For Change and then as Cats R Flyfishn from Pennsylvania For Change. So she freely told the readers of this blog, along with everyone in Berks For Obama, that Pennsylvania For Change was her blog and she was Cats R Flyfishn. In the second link she also identifies herself as Carol in a comment posted by Cats R Flyfishn. Does any idiot out there still believe this woman was blogging anonymously as Typepad maintains? How many bloggers want to trust their blogs and all their work to these morons?

The defining question, for me, after this presidential primary, is why does Barack Obama incite such intense hatred among his supporters. I expected to see this among those opposed to him, not those for him. I am not the only media person driven off the air by conduct even Tavis Smiley condemned when he said "I can't stand the hate." Larry Johnson's blog was also a target.

The hatred which has been directed towards me based on lies and smears has resulted in my car being vandalized and my blogs silenced. Family members are fearful for our safety. All this from people supporting a candidate whose message is one of unity, tolerance and coming together.

The level and intensity of the hatred is terrifying. The Obama campaign has done nothing to stem this tide of abuse. I inquired to my press contact and one other person associated with the campaign to determine if anyone with the Obama For President campaign had anything to do with the action taken against this blog. I know this woman and she isn't smart enough to do this on her own. Seventy two hours later the Obama campaign has not responded to my inquiry. I believe their silence speaks volumes.

Here is the quote from Typepad informing me that they upheld the complaint filed against me for using the name of an elected public official:

Dear Mr. Morgan,

If
Ms. Wentz did not give you permission to post her name on your blog,
then it is still an invasion of her privacy to do so. I have consulted
with Six Apart counsel and he does say that the full name must be
removed. This is a valid complaint under our Terms of Service and is
not criminal. Please comply with the request. Otherwise, we will need
to edit the post and comments ourselves to remove the disputed content.

Thanks,LauraSix Apart, Ltd.

They have now upheld that decision. They are claiming they did so now, because I published the name of an anonymous blogger. This is at variance with their email Saturday.

I believe one has to actually blog anonymously to qualify as an anonymous blogger. Typepad disagrees. This woman openly revealed her blogging identity to hundreds of people as is documented in my other article linked to above. She chose a blogging name which anyone with even a passing familiarity with her or her husband would instantly recognize. She wrote openly about herself and revealed her real identity on her blog. She has since cleansed her blog of all those references in order to claim anonymity. This is akin to a woman trying to regain her virginity. Once its lost its lost dear.

I have had truly anonymous writers contribute on both my blogs. These include Raven, Great Auk, and Ian Smythe. I have zealously guarded their real identities. I know and respect numerous anonymous bloggers. This woman was never an anonymous blogger. Typepad is contesting the fact she is an elected public official though every Democrat in her Township is her constituent. She ran and won public office. She is the Chair of the F Region of the Berks County (PA) Democratic Committee. I and others have been told by legal counsel we cannot sue for defamation because we hold the same office. Why is Typepad defending this woman? Can they be trusted by any blogger to support your use of legitimate sources and to write critically about elected public officials?

As a test my co writer Kirk Wentzel had a series of emails with Typepad yesterday. They show a policy which goes against their policy towards me as represented by their legal counsel to mine. Here is the exchange, published with Kirk's express permission:

Hi: I
was thinking about starting a blog that would cater to local politics
but I had a question about your terms of service. Is it permitted to
publish the names, public office addresses and office phone numbers for
elected or appointed local (city, couty and state) public political
officials. For example, can I write an opinion article
about our Mayor and say "Call Mayor X at his office xxx-xxx-xxxx and
express your opinion). Keep in mind please that this is a publically
avaialbe phone number published in the phone book and on the City's
website. Your privacy terms are somewhat less specific
that other blog hosting companies terms are and so we though it might
be good to check before we start this venture. Thanks in advance! K Ashton Wentzel

Hi there, You can read our Terms of Service
online. Because of the size of our user base, we are not able to police
or pre-approve content before it goes up. Instead, we only remove
content if we receive information that the content is illegal. This
would include if it is in violation of copyright or if a court has
found it to be illegal for any of the reasons listed in our Terms of
Service. Please note, however, that we are very strict
regarding any type of child pornography and we fully investigate all
reports of this. Thanks, Zalary TypePad Technical ServicesSix Apart, Ltd.

I have read your
terms of service and your privacy section is not very clear which is
why I asked the question. Do you have objection to bloggers publishing
the names of public officials (elected and appointed) along with theiir
official office addresses and phone numbers...NOT their home numbers or
addresses. If you cannot answer that specific question,
please just say the you refuse to answer the questions. Your terms of
service does not address that question. If it did, I wouldn't be asking.
I am glad that you investigate child pronography...it's disgusting, why
you chose to address that specific item in regard to my question is,
however, somewhat of a mystery.Kirk

Hi Kirk, Thanks for the note. It should be fine to post their official addresses and phone numbers on your TypePad weblog. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you. Thanks, Kymberlie

That’s helpful.
We already assume there is never a problem publishing a public
official’s name even if the official would file a complaint, public
official’s names are, by definition are ‘public’. If Typepad holds a
different view then please let me know otherwise we will assume the
federal court ruling on that subject is the standard you adhere to. Sorry for
all the questions but we want to be sure we don’t do anything wrong by
accident and create a problem. I’m sure you understand. Kirk

Hi Kirk, Thanks for the note. As I mentioned, you should be fine with
mentioning only official information, but please let us know if you need anything else. Thanks, Kymberlie

April 14, 2008

I am ending The Pennsylvania Progressive. Over the course of 23 months we published about 3,800 articles and 435 more at Berks Democrats. I attended many campaign events, read countless books and websites and too many public meetings than I care to count. I'd like to thank our readers and the commenters who made this a virtual community of sorts. I particularly want to thank our writers.

The blog has died because of one woman, a Democratic Committee woman from Pike Township, Berks County who filed a complaint with Typepad, my host, that I used her name without permission. I use people's names all the time, it's impossible not to. These are public figures with no legal expectation of privacy. This woman was angry that I exposed the treachery she and her husband used to smear several Democratic candidates and officials. She objected to my linking her to her blog even though, when she created it, she sent an email announcement to several hundred people. That identity was no secret.

To continue The Pennsylvania Progressive I would have to cease using anyone's name, as subjects, sources or any other reason. I won't write half assed articles that way. The only other alternative is moving the blog and beginning anew. After two years of work and effort on this that's devastating to face. It takes too long to build a blog and, at 56, I'm not prepared to do that again. I could relocate to an offshore server where these issues would never arise again but that means hiring someone to create the website. The business model and funds for that don't exist. Not one paid advertisement appeared on this blog in 23 months. Democrats and Pennsylvanians have not supported this blog and there is no prospect they will. It doesn't make financial sense to invest money in such a venture even if I had it.

So this is farewell. I loved doing this and will miss arising every morning and deciding what topics and news to discuss. I'll miss driving around Pennsylvania covering the campaigns and supporting our candidates. I was headed to the Pittsburgh area this week to work with a Congressional candidate there and to Gettysburg to finish an article on private development of the battlefield. I regret not being able to continue my work.

I'll continue to write. A friend suggested I do an anthology of the most important blog articles and I rather like that idea. I also think I'll do a book about blogging, its trials and tribulations, the stories behind the stories. I even have a working title for that one, "The Nefarious Blogger." Aside from that there's a good bit of litigation ahead so that will also keep me busy.

I want to close by thanking the family and friends who did support this blog financially. It wouldn't have existed without your support. It's a shame Democrats refused to join you in this.

Update: Thanks for all the emails and invitations to join other blogs. I now have an attorney working on this matter and I'm going to spend some downtime figuring out what to do next. I have a lot of thinking to do and we're now fearful of what these Obama supporters might do next. I've never seen a campaign breed such hatred and vitriol at those not supporting their candidate. What is it about Barack Obama which is causing this meltdown among his supporters?

Update II: My thoughts, as of Saturday, April 19, are that I will not continue The Pennsylvania Progressive. After all I do, after all the work and expense I put into covering and promoting Democratic candidates I am not welcome at Party functions. After all the support for organized labor, all the articles supporting labor, they treat me like shit.

April 12, 2008

In a serious free speech violation a volunteer for Barack Obama, a woman who has repeatedly smeared me because I won't support the Illinois Senator, has succeeded in shutting down The Pennsylvania Progressive. This elected public official, a Democratic Committeewoman from Pike Township, Berks County, filed a formal complaint against me and my blog for using her name without her permission. She told me she was blogging on January 26, 2008 along with two others, witnesses to that fact. She never expressed confidentiality and never said the information was off the record. Now she is claiming that two months after the fact. She freely and voluntarily offered this information and openly disclosed facts about herself on her blogs which anyone could use to determine her identity. In fact she made no attempts in her writings to conceal her identity. Now that she has publicly disgraced herself she is claiming confidentiality. Unfortunately that isn't a right an elected official can claim under the First Amendment.

Typepad informed me today of the following:

Dear Mr. Morgan,

If
Ms. W---z did not give you permission to post her name on your blog,
then it is still an invasion of her privacy to do so. I have consulted
with Six Apart counsel and he does say that the full name must be
removed. This is a valid complaint under our Terms of Service and is
not criminal. Please comply with the request. Otherwise, we will need
to edit the post and comments ourselves to remove the disputed content.

Thanks,LauraSix Apart, Ltd.

Because of this, we must ask that you remove the name from the above-mentioned content and not re-post it.

Please
remove this material as soon as possible and contact us to let us know
of your compliance. If we have not heard back from you within two
business days, specifically by April 14, 2008, we will remove the
disputed content.

Thanks,LauraSix Apart, Ltd.

Her harassment of me has been criminal and I intend to file charges against her to that effect. Since Typepad is now prohibiting me from using the names of public figures I do not see how I can continue writing The Pennsylvania Progressive at Typepad.com. As such I see no alternative but to suspend the blog pending relocation. Meanwhile I am referring these free speech violations to my attorney.

So this is what the Obama campaign represents: the stifling of voices which dare differ from theirs. This campaign has done nothing, absolutely nothing, to my knowledge to restrain this lunatic's sabotaging of their campaign. Interestingly she has a history of sabotaging Democratic candidates as I noted in my article about her.

I revealed the fact she is an elected official in one of my comments on this article. Typepad has ordered me to remove that information but I dare not since it is a critical issue in a civil rights case against them and Mrs. Carol Wentz.

I am not going to go about securing the written permission of everyone mentioned on this blog. That is nigh on impossible. As such I see no alternative to suspend the blog. Remember this when you vote on April 22nd. I know I will.

Update: I worked all afternoon backing up the blog in case Typepad suspends my account. I am moving it temporarily pending a new, permanent location with a host which believes in First Amendment rights. Meanwhile if you would like to comment to Six Apart, Ltd. about their free speech violations, especially if you are a member of the media, legislator, Governor, Senator, Member of Congress, staffer or presidential candidate you can contact them here:

The hatred and vitriol being spewed by Obama supporters forced Tavis Smiley to quit his radio show this week. I am hardly the only person who has been targeted by these people. Meanwhile I suppose it goes without saying that I now endorse Hillary Rodham Clinton for President. I cannot support a man whose campaign tolerates hate speech.

Update: I've shut down the comments as part of shutting down the blog. If I'm successful transferring it to a new host I won't be able to move the comments so why bother adding more? They won't appear anyway.

Paul Bucha, a public figure and foreign policy adviser to a presidential candidate and Senator from Illinois, called author Naomi Klein a "whackjob" during a recent tour of Pennsylvania college campuses. As he discussed the situation in Iraq this key adviser mentioned several facts about Iraq and its invasion and occupation which resonated with anyone who has read Klein's book "The Shock Doctrine." He mentioned how we are attempting to remake Iraq in our own image along with other references which match Klein's theory.

I asked him if this meant he advocated the position Naomi Klein took and whether the Senator also did. He denied that which seemed strange since he'd just said some of the very same things she wrote in her book. After the event he told me that Naomi Klein is a "whackjob."

Republican John McCain is trying to find separation from the failed policies of the Republican Party as personified by George W. Bush as he heads into the general election. The failed policies of the GOP go well beyond Bush however to all those Governors, state legislators and Members of the House and Senate in Washington who also aspire to class warfare, deregulation, smaller government and privatization of public services for private profit.

John McCain was a maverick once but he abandoned that position when he decided to run for president this year. He has embraces most of all of the Bush agenda. Do you really want to put your Social Security trust fund in the hands of Wall Street? Do you actually trust investment bankers with your retirement? John McCain advocates this. Do you really want massive tax cuts for the richest people in America while 18,000 Americans die every year because they don't have access to medical care? McCain supports this.

Do you believe invading Iraq was a good idea? McCain supported that. Do you think attacking Iran is a good idea? John McCain goes around the country singing "bomb, bomb Iran." If you support the failed policies of George W. Bush then John McCain is your man. Remember it this way: McCain means more of the same.